Opposition votes by S.J. on water issues

County wary of state regulation of groundwater

Fearing the state will interfere with local management of groundwater supplies, San Joaquin County supervisors voted Tuesday to oppose legislation and support state intervention "only in the most extreme situations."

Fearing the state will interfere with local management of groundwater supplies, San Joaquin County supervisors voted Tuesday to oppose legislation and support state intervention "only in the most extreme situations."

In a separate action, supervisors also opposed the proposed designation of the upper Mokelumne River as wild and scenic.

First, the groundwater issue:

Unlike some portions of the state, where excessive pumping of groundwater has caused the ground to sink several feet or more, San Joaquin County has seen land "subsidence" measured in mere millimeters, county Public Works Director Tom Gau told the board Tuesday.

Gau said the county has done a good job attempting to reverse overpumping, with local agencies spending more than $700 million since 1980 to acquire more water from rivers and streams to take the pressure off underground supplies.

California is the only state in the West that does not regulate groundwater at the state level. The serious drought has created momentum to change that, including two bills pending in the Legislature.

The local concern, however, is that areas that have attempted to improve their groundwater supplies will be lumped in with areas that have neglected this precious resource.

"My fear is, given this drought situation and almost the hysteria about it, they're going to jam through something and we're not going to be pleased with it," Supervisor Larry Ruhstaller said. "We're taking this action, but we really need to go up (to Sacramento) with solutions, and we need to have allies throughout the state that actually can help us get the type of bill that we can live with."

Supervisors also voted to oppose legislation that would declare the upper Mokelumne River, from Pardee Lake to Salt Springs Reservoir, as wild and scenic. The county's fear is that such a designation would make the river off-limits for future water storage or hydroelectric projects.

"If you truly believe in global warming, there will be more rainfall than snowfall in the future. If you don't have storage reservoirs to put it in, we won't have the water supply we have today," said Andy Christensen, general manager of the Woodbridge Irrigation District, which also opposes the wild and scenic designation.

Calaveras County and Mother Lode businesses support the designation, citing the recreation and tourism benefits of a free-flowing stream.

The San Joaquin County vote on each item was 4-0, with Supervisor Carlos Villapudua absent.

Contact reporter Alex Breitler or abreitler@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/breitlerblog or on Twitter @alexbreitler.